NATO to Investigate Drone Strike After Afghans Say Civilians Died

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan's NATO force has launched an investigation into an attack by a drone aircraft on an al-Qaida member which a senior Afghan official said killed eight women and children.

Civilian casualties have been a long-running source of friction between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his international backers. Karzai has forbidden Afghan troops from calling for foreign air strikes, though the ban is not always adhered to.

The attack took place on Sept. 7 in the eastern province of Kunar. NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) initially said "10 enemy forces" had been killed and it had no reports of any civilian casualties.

"When allegations arose of civilian fatalities as a result of this mission, ISAF initiated an investigation," said a force spokeswoman, Colonel Jane Crichton.

"The airstrike targeted insurgents riding in a truck. There were no signs of civilians in the vicinity," Crichton said.

But Karzai had strongly condemned the attack from the outset. He called it an attack on women and children which was "against all internationally agreed principles."

Afghan security officials in Kunar said NATO special operations forces had launched the drone to attack an al-Qaida operative.